India vs Japan: Population in largest city
India
34.67 million
in 2025
Japan
37.04 million
in 2025
India rank
2nd
Japan rank
1st
Population in largest city over time
- India
- Japan
How they compare
Japan currently reports 37.04 million against 34.67 million in India, a difference of 2.37 million.
That makes Japan's figure about 1.1 times India's.
Across all 66 years both countries report, Japan has been ahead every year.
India ranks 2nd and Japan ranks 1st of 153 countries.
Japan has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | India | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 6.53 million | 19.77 million | 13.24 million | Japan |
| 1970s | 8.09 million | 26.00 million | 17.91 million | Japan |
| 1980s | 10.56 million | 30.21 million | 19.65 million | Japan |
| 1990s | 13.99 million | 33.46 million | 19.47 million | Japan |
| 2000s | 18.50 million | 35.51 million | 17.01 million | Japan |
| 2010s | 25.55 million | 37.21 million | 11.65 million | Japan |
| 2020s | 32.49 million | 37.23 million | 4.73 million | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher population in largest city, India or Japan?
- Japan, at 37.04 million against 34.67 million in India as of 2025.
- What is the difference in population in largest city between India and Japan?
- 2.37 million, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for India and Japan?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do India and Japan rank globally for population in largest city?
- India ranks 2nd and Japan ranks 1st of 153 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN), published as Population in largest city. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Population in largest city is the urban population living in the country's largest metropolitan area.